Aliyeva from First Lady to First vice-president of Azerbaijan

This week Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev appointed his wife Mehriban as the first vice president of the country — the person next in line in the nation’s power hierarchy.

Ilham Aliyev, 55 named his wife Mehriban, 52, to the position created after a constitutional referendum in September. Mehriban, who married her husband when she was 19, graduated from a medical university. She has served previously as a lawmaker and headed a charity, the UNESCO goodwill ambassador.

Negotiations on the new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan have been launched earlier this month, following the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Brussels on 6 February. The new agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European neighbourhood policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan. The EU is Azerbaijan’s main trading partner, accounting for around 42.4% of Azerbaijan’s total trade. The EU imports from Azerbaijan chiefly consist of mineral fuels – oil and gas, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and food and live animals.